I've just been talking to another traveller who was particularly grumpy about Munich airport not having free wifi when he was there recently.

Now I seem to recall that Germany has pretty strict laws prohibiting open wifi access because the person providing the wifi would have some responsibility if somebody were to do some hacking over their signal.

But I don't know whether that law prohibits all kinds of free wifi or only the kind where a user doesn't need a password or key or have to enter any kind of info into a page that comes up first before allowing through access to the net.

Or could it be some exclusivity deal where some restaurant or cafe paid the airport for rights to be the only WIFI provider or some such thing?

So is it only Munich airport that lacks free wifi or do all German airports lack free wifi due to a law as outlined above?

At least the airports in Munich, Frankfurt, Düsseldorf and Berlin Tegel have Starbucks with Wifi
–
Peter HahndorfDec 9 '11 at 17:00

2

All of the Lufthansa lounges offer free unauthenticated Wifi. Presuming you don't have access to the lounges, you may still be able to get access by sitting near one of the lounges.
–
DocDec 14 '12 at 15:40

5 Answers
5

It's generally hard to find free WiFi in Germany; it's pretty much as you said and has something to do with the fact that the hotspot owner would be hold responsible for whatever his users or guests do or download on his network. There was a case about this a few years ago where some kid used his neighbors open wifi and downloaded movies or music - therefore most small shops, cafes or restaurants want to avoid any hassle with the law and rather don't offer free WiFi.

Some big cities have dedicated pages for wifi hotspots (http://www.freewifiberlin.com/), and for some cities you can get apps that show you the open hotspots.

You can sign up with Telecom who runs some hotspots in train stations, airports and big public places, but it's rather expensive. If you stay longer in Germany you should get a 3g modem for your laptop, this would probably your cheapest and most reliable solution.

If you travel via train you can at least charge your laptop in most long distance trains; and some trains even offer WiFi via the Telecom hotspot account.

Never seen any starbucks in germany - all the small bakeries are the places to go for fresh kuchen and coffee in the morning!

@KateGregory A while ago, I flew Lufthansa and they used old Boeing 747-400 aircraft that had only overhead entertainment on their LAX-FRA route, whereas on their LAX-MUC route they used Airbus aircraft that had in-seat entertainment (a must for me). But that was back in 2010; now in 2014 they use newer 747-8s for the former route, and will eventually switch to the A380 for that. But yeah, there are many reasons.
–
gparyaniNov 30 '14 at 21:31

Free WiFi in Germany is really a problem. There are legal issues (owner of WiFi is liable for any actions done from this WiFi) and many hotels, airports and Telcos think it is reasonable to charge you with 2-10 EUR/h.

There are free hotspots at Starbucks, McDonald's (not sure), but generally rare.

Recently I have seen some new free Internet terminals at Munich airport (at least in Terminal 2), but I think that's so 90's.

I think the problen is not the law. In Germany, many coffee shops have free Wi-Fi.

I think the issues is that the landlord, Fraport or Munich airport is somehow connected to Deutsche Telecom.

They get paid to ensure there is no competition to the telephone company monopoly Wi-Fi provider. It would be a good case to take to the European Commission as I am sure it breaches EU competition law!

I can't agree with you that there are many cafes with WiFi
–
Dirty-flowJan 2 '13 at 8:39

@Dirty-flow Might depend on the region and what you mean by “many”. For example in the North-East (Berlin obviously but also less trendy cities in the former GDR), I know several places with free wifi everywhere I have been. You can't expect any shop to have one and it might less common than in some other places but it's not difficult to find. Even some cities are offering it so I think this answer's main point, namely that the law does not prevent it, is spot on (+1).
–
RelaxedMay 1 '14 at 11:14